Sneakers
1887
In my day, it was Converse vs Pro-Keds. Then came Nike v Adidas. These days...who knows.
Skechers v Asics?
Whatever the brand, people still do call them sneakers (though probably not as often as they used to, what with running shoes, walking shoes, cross trainers, and a few dozen other choices).
Turns out, we've been calling them sneakers for quite a while, back to 1887, in fact (sneakers as a word for, well, people who sneak, has been around lots longer) .
The FirstMention for sneakers stems from a September 2, 1887 snippet in the New York Times, which not only dates the word, but tells us, more or less, who coined it, and where it was coined.
The article cites the Boston Journal of Education as the original source of the quote, and those darned Boston school kids as the ones who came up with the word.
And sure enough, Boston turns up again as the place where the first ad for sneakers shows up in 1889...in Jordan Marsh!
Fifty-nine cents! What would Misters Jordan and Marsh think of today's prices, I wonder. But whatever they cost, whatever your brand, and whatever you call them...they sure are comfortable.
Know of an earlier FirstMention? Drop us a line at david@firstmention.com